TEXAS VET NEWS By Dr. Bob Judd, DVM and the Texas Farm Bureau Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network

Stomach ulcers in horses are probably more common than we think and can be a cause of decreased appetite, colic and poor performance.  It has been shown that strenuous exercise or training can result in stomach ulcers so there are probably many horses with undiagnosed ulcers.  Compared to a horse on pasture, confining your horse to a stall can increase the chance of gastric ulcers developing. 

There is some question as to the best feeding regimen to prevent gastric ulcers in horses.  One study looked at feeding one group orchard grass hay and another group 14% sweet feed and alfalfa hay.  You would expect the horses getting the sweet feed would be more susceptible to ulcers.  However, the horses fed orchard grass hay actually had a lower pH in their stomachs than horses fed sweet feed and alfalfa.  It was believed the higher calcium and protein content of alfalfa hay buffered the effects of the grain and kept the stomach pH from decreasing.  From this study, it seems - at least as far as stomach ulcers are concerned - that feeding alfalfa is much better than feeding grass hay if you are going to be feeding grain at the same time.  Another factor that can lead to ulceration is feed restriction because horses produce acid 24 hours a day.  This is why it is so important for horses that are susceptible to ulcers to have access to pasture.  Grazing grass in the pasture buffers the acid produced continually in the horse’s stomach.  Feeding corn oil or rice bran was not effective in preventing ulceration.  So if you are feeding your horse grain, feeding alfalfa and allowing your horse to graze may help prevent stomach ulcers.

Hear the audio of this program at the Texas Farm Bureau Network.

Date Published: 7/20/2009 11:14:00 AM